


The Untrotted Path

by Inspired_Rarity



Category: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 04:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18275810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inspired_Rarity/pseuds/Inspired_Rarity
Summary: Sunset Shimmer had everything. Personal protégé of the Sun Princess herself, top marks in the School for Gifted Unicorns, and the honor of being dubbed the greatest arcanist since Starswirl the Bearded.Until she threw it all away.In the last moments before leaving Equestria forever, her destiny is snatched away right before her eyes. Once upon a time the story of the lives of herself, Twilight Sparkle, and the path of Equestrian History went one way, a story that we all know well. But in every stand of woods there is a path untrotted, one with a different story and new experiences.Discussion of this and other works can be found on my https://discord.gg/8D8BGt3 Private Discord Server





	1. Greener Pastures

[i]‘No point in delaying, I guess.’[/i]

Six months ago Princess-Regent Celestia Sol Invicta had brought her personal student, the magical prodigy Sunset Shimmer, before the mirror. Ever since Celestia had first shown it to her, ever since she'd seen an image of herself as an alicorn Princess in her own right, it had plagued her every waking moment.

Like a tongue probing the socket of a missing tooth, she kept returning to the night prior. Celestia had been droning on about… something or other, and she'd finally snapped. Why had Celestia shown her that, if it was never meant to happen? If she wasn't ready?

The argument had escalated to a full-scale tiff. Her mentor-cum-surrogate mother had lost that damnable composure, and shrieked for her to go to her room.

Go to her room, like she was a blank-flanked foal instead of a grown mare of twenty who could bend the universe around her horn.

Celestia clearly expected her to think about what she had been saying to her for the last months. Sunset had pored through notes gleaned from any source she could find on the mirror, instead. She'd found out that it was one of Starswirl the Bearded’s miracles. That for three days it would connect to another world beside their own. She'd studied late into the night and made up her mind. She wasn't going to live under Celestia’s shadow any longer. She would venture into this other world and [i]prove[/i] that she was ready for whatever Celestia had to offer her.

She packed her saddlebag with a few items she thought might come in handy from what she'd gleaned from her notes. A pouch of bits and a hoofful of gemstones- hard coin was rarely passed up no matter where one found themselves. A few of her carefully-annotated books on magical theory, to refresh her mind during her travels. At the very bottom, ignored by most of Sunset’s conscious mind…

A journal, emblazoned with her mentor/mother's cutie mark on the cover. A spell paired it with a twin in Celestia’s private study. Any time she needed to talk, she could write in it and whatever she would write would appear in Celestia’s half of the journal pair. She would take it with her, in case she regretted her decision, or if this was all…

“This might end up being the biggest mistake of my life. But you've left me no other choice, Celestia."

She steeled herself, and rested a forehoof on the surface of the mirror. A tingle ran up her foreleg and settled into her core as its magic mingled with her own. The second she felt it accept her, she would push through it into the other world. Never to return.

Instead of a ripple of magic, the floor rumbled and danced beneath her. With three legs, her balance was off and the shaking of Canterlot beneath her brought her to the ground. As the thunder continued, and mingled with the sounds of shouts and screams from the direction of Celestia’s School, the mirror vibrated.

She watched in horror as cracks spread across the silvered surface of her last chance. Her lifeline. Her heart broke as the mirror shattered. As jagged shards of glass collapsed to the ground with an almost smarmily cheerful tinkle. As if the universe was [i]pleased[/i] it had subverted her [i]destiny[/i].

She stared for several minutes, cycling through myriad horrors. One of the few tangible objects left behind by one of history's greatest sorcerers, left in ruin. A beautiful object in its own right, destroyed. An ingenious magical artifact, undone.

Her destiny, [i]disintegrated.[/i]

Nopony spared her a glance as she trudged down the hallways of the palace. They were all running the other way, towards the school. The commotion grew louder as she crossed the courtyard to her tower. Another student had probably Flared during the entrance examinations scheduled for this morning. In her current state of mind, Sunset couldn't be bothered with lending her arcane might to the task of assisting.

She slammed her way inside, and didn't bother even closing the door behind her. A hoof ran along the spines of books that she had prepared herself to leave behind as she clipped her way up the spiral staircase to the second level.

She gave a cursory glance to the laboratory housed there, and shook her head. Maybe tomorrow she would feel better, begin the research to repair the mirror. Maybe if she succeeded, Celestia would be impressed. She continued up the stairs, dropping herself into her far-too-comfortable bed.

She pressed her face into her pillows without bothering to remove her saddlebag, or even remove her jacket. Her magic flared, drawing her blankets around herself to ward off Canterlot's fall chill as much as to hide the shoulder-shaking sobs from the world.

[hr]

She awoke some time later with a headache and dry, itchy eyes. Her saddlebag dug uncomfortably into her hip. The journal tucked at the bottom vibrated and glowed straight through the fabric of her bag, through the covers. The sharp vibrations of the journal had awoken her. She lifted herself from her damp pillows and sat up, fumbling for a light with her turquoise magic as she dug for the offending book.

As always, the next entry started on a blank page. Sunset watched as Celestia's flowery runic Ponish flowed across the crisp cream paper in stark black ink. She stared at the words, willing them to make sense, wondering if Celestia had slipped and written in a dead language, again?

She read over the missive again, puzzling over it for hidden meaning. It was as plain as it had been the first time, like their fight the previous evening hadn't happened. Like Celestia didn't hate her for being an ungrateful little nag who thought the world revolved around her.

[i]‘Please join me in my study for a late tea. There is somepony that I think you should meet. It will be good for both of you.’[/i]

Another attempt at forcing her to [i]make friends[/i], then. There was nothing for it. Celestia had spoken and Sunset had better listen if she knew what was good for her.

Besides, listening to her mentor berate her would be worth it. They would have lunch at least. She'd stormed out without eating a bite of dinner the previous night, and had skipped breakfast to spend more time at the mirror. Her stomach protested uncomfortably.

[hr]

The weather was clear and warm for a day in early fall this far above the treeline, but Sunset was cold. The cheerful chirping of birds in the trees grated on her ears. It was like the whole universe was objecting to her presence, like she belonged somewhere else.

She huffed and pushed her way through the imposing doors of Celestia’s private quarters.

She found them as she always did. The midafternoon light was too bright, throwing a thousand years of knickknacks into stark relief. Celestia stood by the stained glass doors leading out onto her balcony. She turned, their eyes met, and she stiffened. Sunset forced herself to withstand the withering gaze of the Sun Itself.

Ten years of this same scene played out in the back of her mind. Sunset would become enraged, one or the other would say something regrettable.

They'd stay apart for a day or two, and Sunset would slink back. She'd hang her head and mutter those magic words.

[i]“I come before you seeking forgiveness, guidance, and knowledge.”[/i]

Wings that bore the weight of the kingdom would embrace her, and everything would be fine. In that moment, Celestia would cease to be Mentor, and transform into Mother.

The Princess Mask cracked, and Celestia broke eye contact first.

“Celestia, I-”

“Sunset…”

Sunset bowed her head. “You first.”

Celestia settled herself at the low study table, her golden aura embracing the silver-filigreed teapot and pouring out tea for the two of them. Two lumps of sugar settled into Sunset’s cup; Celestia drank hers dark and bitter.

“Do you know how old I am, my shimmering sunset?”

Sunset took her seat and fiddled with her tea. “Over a thousand years, as near as anypony can tell.” She knew better than to ask ‘why?’; Celestia [i]always[/i] had some reason for whatever she asked or did.

“One thousand, one hundred twenty, actually. You'd think in all that time I would have learned something. Something staring me right in the face. But of course, the Sun outshines all other stars, and far too often I am blind.”

Celestia studied the stained panels that depicted the fall of her Sister nearly a thousand years before.

“She wasn't evil, or a monster, you know. She was my baby sister.” She cupped her tea in both hooves. “It was my fault. I didn't know how deep and dark my shadow was. Is. She was transformed into a wicked mare of darkness not by hatred, but by fear and doubt."

Sunset let her talk. When Celestia rambled, it was easier to just listen.

“Today, I'm breaking that cycle. You mean too much to me to live your life in my shadow, to have me outshine your glow.” A deep sip of her black, bitter tea. “As of today, you are no longer my student, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset’s heart stopped. A small lavender filly roused herself, awoken by the voices over her head. Sunset stared. Her turquoise aura darkened, deepened to a fiery red. Before she quite knew what she was doing she was already on her hooves, and the delicate porcelain had smashed against the wall. A hoof was thrust towards Celestia, as if Sunset willed it to be a blade to pierce her heart.

“This is so like you. Didn't take you long to replace me, did it.”

Celestia’s expression was impassive, the Princess Mask returned. “Sunset Shimmer. I'd like you to meet Twilight Sparkle. [i]Your[/i] protégé.”


	2. Filly Steps

If Sunset laid very still and kept very, very quiet, the day before couldn't possibly have happened. She was disabused of this notion in extremely short order.  
  
A cannonball of purple fuzz launched itself into her bed, shaking the mattress with a dull creak of springs. It immediately began bouncing over her from one side to the other, adding to the cacophony with its incessant shrieking.  
  
“FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!”  
  
When ignored, the little hellion resorted to nudging at her with its skull, digging its horn into her kidneys.  
  
“M’up, m’up. Wha’ time’sit.” Sunset mumbled into her pillow, eyes tightly shut. Perhaps if she didn't move, the problem would go away.   
  
“Seven. I think. Which means it's time for school!”  
  
Sunset slowly rolled to a sitting position, and leveled a balefire glare at the tiny thing standing over her. To her credit, Twilight stared back with the quiet innocence only found in small children and the intellectually challenged. Sunset blinked slowly and released a slow breath.  
  
“If I get up will you please [i]stop shouting[/i]?”  
  
The foal stared for a few seconds more, before nodding once.  
  
Sunset rolled her eyes and slid off her bed, falling to the tiled floor of her bedroom with a quartet of soft clicks. Without a second glance back she made her sleepy, fumbling way downstairs to the kitchen at the base of the tower.  
  
She slammed the door open with her characteristic lack of restraint, and swung her telekinetic aura around with the same. She slumped at her dining table, the coffee engine rattling and chirping behind her. The quiet clicking of the foal’s hooves roused her imperceptibly.  
  
“How did you even get in here? I don't even think [i]Celestia[/i] could enter my tower without permission, let alone my bedroom.”  
  
The filly invited herself to sit at the spot directly across from her.  
  
“I-I spent the night. Don't you remember?”  
  
Memory flickered and sputtered behind her eyes. This early in the morning, her brain wasn't firing on all cylinders yet.  
  
The conversation with Celestia only barely been bearable. She had been all “joy of responsibility” this and “this is the opportunity you've been waiting for” that. All while her heart broke with every word.  
  
Then the Pink One had shown up, and things were spotty after that. She made a mental note to probe her psyche for any evidence of tampering. She'd probably forced some kind of emotional connection between her and the filly.  
  
Who was chattering about something or other. She had a sudden realization that she should probably feed her. The filly probably counted as a “houseguest”, and learning on an empty stomach was supposed to be difficult.  
  
“-and I didn't prepare a study guide, what if they give us a [i]test[/i] our first day and I fail and they decide that I'm not cut out for school and-”  
  
Sunset nodded and made hopefully affirmative noises. Her horn lit up, a glow of telekinesis clattering porcelain and silverware. The foal’s prattle died down in awe as she levitated no less than six separate objects.  
  
A cup of tar-black coffee set itself in front of Sunset, and a cup of tea before Twilight. Bowls clattered to the oak surface of the table, promptly filled.  
  
“Relax. It's just magic kindergarten.” She took a deep gulp of the lifegiving liquid inside her mug. “You can read, you're already ahead of the curve. They're not going to spring a test first day. Heck, I don't even think magic kindergarten [i]has[/i] tests.”  
  
She leveled an eye at Twilight, who was poking the contents of her bowl with her spoon, muzzle scrunched into an expression of sheer confusion.  
  
“M-miss Shimmer, what [i]is[/i] this?”  
  
“Muesli. Eat up, it's good for you.” She prodded her own bowl of fruit and oats. “Now hush. Mornings are for breakfast, coffee, and quiet contemplation.”  
  
Twilight’s lips moved, as if committing this to memory. “Er. Contemplating what?”  
  
“How absolutely wrong my life has gone.”  
  
[hr]  
  
The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Sunset Shimmer was in hell. She'd walked Twilight on the short trip to the CSGU campus and had to deal with the filly hiding underneath her, while she listlessly spoke to faculty and found out where Twilight was meant to actually [i]be[/i], managing to get her into her classroom before the bell rang to announce the start of school.  
  
Then, instead of taking a well-earned midmorning nap followed by lunch at a cafe and returning to her alchemy experiments, she sat at her study desk surrounded by a flurry of paper.  
  
Suddenly she stopped. She was overthinking this. Plans, dusty primers far beneath talent… that was Celestia’s method. A method that had held her back for all these years. The only way she had gotten as far as she did was her own hooves-on approach.  
  
She smiled to herself and brushed aside the drifts of failed lesson plans. She cracked open her copy of [i]Starswirl’s Principles of Sorcery; A Primer[/i] and a clean sheet of paper. Dipping her quill, she began to write.  
  
[hr]  
  
Sunset smiled despite herself as she waited at the foot of the great stone steps leading into the CSGU building. She sat on the edge of a fountain that dominated the courtyard. Water burbled cheerfully beneath a granite statue of Celestia reading a book to a foal nestled under her wing.   
  
She watched the lavender filly carefully navigate steps half as tall as she was. Even if she was technically Sunset’s replacement, even if Sunset hated foals, even if she'd been ejected from the Princess’ tutelage and saddled with this responsibility, she had to admit that Twilight was cute as a button.   
  
Her greeting died in her throat as she noticed the way the filly slumped at the withers. The flagstones beneath her hooves smoked as her expression hardened. The universe winced and ducked for cover as Sunset got [i]angry.[/i]  
  
Then suddenly she took a deep breath and cheered up. As the foal approached she took a gamble and stole a play from Celestia’s book, tucking a forehoof beneath Twilight’s chin and forcing her to look up.  
  
Turquoise eyes met violet ones full of sorrow. They stared at one another for a moment, before Sunset’s eyes drifted towards her muzzle and she puffed out her cheeks. Startled, Twilight broke into a fit of giggles.  
  
“Hey squirt. Did you make any friends today?” At this point she might as well put on a pastel-rainbow wig.  
  
“Um. Not exactly. I wouldn't call them ‘friends’ seeing as how we've only known one another a day. But there was one filly that I liked. We read a book together.”  
  
Sunset smiled as her rage cooled. Twilight was just worn out from her first day. Turquoise telekinesis wrapped the filly and pulled her up, settling the tiny thing on her own shoulders.  
  
“I never checked- am I supposed to take you home?” She glanced over her shoulder, accidentally brushing her snout against the filly’s cheek.  
  
Twilight tilted her head and pressed back, settling her forelegs around the mare’s neck.  
  
“I guess so. Cadance was supposed to watch me tonight, my parents are going out.”  
  
Ah. There was the anger again. She furrowed her brow and sighed, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. Of [i]course[/i] Cadance. Her life wasn't going well enough without being forced into close contact with the Pink One.  
  
She tipped her head back again as she briskly trotted off out of the courtyard. “Um… Where do you live again?”  
  
A sleepy voice murmured around the vicinity of her ear. “434 Sunward Way.”  
  
Her eye twitched. One of the [i]thoroughbred[/i] districts. Naturally.   
  
[hr]  
  
The walk over didn't take very long, and likewise jimmying open the gate with her magic. But, Twilight had fallen asleep, so she kept her tread as even as she possibly could as she made the final approach to Sparkle Manor. It wasn't enough that Twilight was apparently a minor noble, a member of the elite. It wasn't enough that she had aced her entry exam, including [i]hatching a baby dragon[/i].  
  
No, the house just [i]had[/i] to be tasteful and cozy-looking. Hanging off the side of a mountain tended to restrict the size of residential buildings and the size of property plots. But that didn't stop thoroughbreds from testing the city’s foundations with the largest and most ostentatious estates they could manage.  
  
In contrast, most of Sparkle Manor's plot was well-kept lawn. It even had a solitary apple tree with a rope swing, and some new-looking playground equipment. A flagstone walk bisected the grass, leading up to the steps of the wraparound porch. The building itself looked only sixty or seventy feet on a side, and three floors tall. As opposed to Blueblood Manor, for instance, inside whose ballroom alone could easily fit this entire house.  
  
The sort of house that she'd dreamed about, growing up in the drafty orphanage tucked against the mountain itself as far away from the castle as one could get.  
  
She took a deep breath and stared at the door. Twilight was waking up, and digging in her saddlebags for something. Twilight’s weight leaning one way while she stood there indecisively meant that she toppled over readily, the door snapping open with a loud bang as she hit the floor of the foyer and slammed her head against hardwood flooring.  
  
Two Twilights stood over her and poked her, before calling out something. Sunset couldn't tell, it sounded like her ears were stuffed with cotton wool. She struggled onto her stomach and held her aching head, willing the world to stop spinning.  
  
The squirt was doing something, a complicated dance? No, copying… somepony. She stiffened and frowned as her vision cleared, Twilight sitting before the Crown Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.  
  
Cadance for short, Cady to her friends. To Sunset, [i]Pink One, the life-stealing bitch.[/i]


	3. Chapter 3

Sunset closed her eyes and counted to ten. Cadance had every right to be here. The squirt had even said that the Pink One foalsat her, and that she would be doing so tonight. She let out a slow, sullen breath and dragged herself to her hooves, trying to ignore the pounding in her head.  
  
Her muzzle split in her best winning grin, a wide toothy smile that didn't quite touch her eyes. The prissy Princess shrank a little under her stare, rather like a dog that had been kicked a time too many. She gently rested a hoof on the squirt’s withers.  
  
“Just making sure [i]my student[/i] makes it home safe, [i]Princess[/i].”  
  
Cadance nodded a little too sharply, and scurried off somewhere. Presumably to the kitchen. Sunset gathered herself up and deposited herself and Twilight on the sofa, dragging her saddlebag into her lap. Something about the squirt’s puzzled expression gave her pause.  
  
She froze. She'd invented that look. It was the one she'd turned upon Celestia herself one morning after watching her raise the sun.  
  
It was a wordless question.  
  
She refused to be broken by it. She returned it with a steely glare, a shard of fire stolen from the Unconquered Sun.  
  
“No. I do not like Cadance. No, I will not tell you why. Yes, it's personal.”  
  
She withdrew the book from her pack with a quick flourish and a grin.  
  
“Now. I have [i]homework[/i] for you.”  
  
Twilight blinked, the Look broken. She merely nestled in against Sunset with barely-hidden glee as the cover of the tome was cracked. It was everything- a spellbook, a storybook, a history text. Everything a foal exhausted and bored by levitating blocks and lessons far below her ability would desire.  
  
It was the book that started Sunset’s education, given to her by the Light of Dawn, Celestia Herself.  
  
[hr]  
  
[i]In the Beginning,[/i] Starswirl writes, [i]the races of ponykind were created from the Fundamental Elements.  
  
The tribe of Earth was called forth from the Stone.  
  
The tribe of Unicorn was called forth from the Water.  
  
The tribe of Pegasus was called forth from the Air.  
  
These were gifted with animation by the Fire, and given thoughts by the Will.[/i] Got your notebook ready? Good.  
  
[i]The new Ponykind trotted the Earth, breathed the Air, and moved like Water. They lived and loved, with the Fire.  
  
But from Will comes thought, and from Will comes Magic.  
  
[b]Starswirl’s First Precept: Magic is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.[/b]  
  
Through Will, the Earth Ponies attuned to the Stone. They shaped the earth beneath their hooves and made it bountiful and much lush of life and greenery.  
  
Through Will, the Pegasus Ponies returned to their native Element and took to the Air. They flew, and tamed the weather to their whims, calling storms to worry their enemies and gentle rains upon those they called Friend.  
  
Ever-shifting and immutable, the Unicorn Ponies turned their Will within and without. Their Will flows through our world and became Sorcery.  
  
Thus were the Pillars of Equestria created:  
  
[b]Strength  
  
Healing  
  
Hope  
  
Beauty  
  
Bravery  
  
And Sorcery.[/b]  
  
These are the Elements and traits found in Ponykind United.[/i]  
  
[hr]  
  
Twilight stared in rapt fascination as the illuminated pages flicked by, and Sunset put on her best ‘Starswirl The Bearded’ voice. Cadance leaned her head in from the kitchen and smiled a tiny smile, meant only for her.  
  
The Princess of Love could see the chains that bound one pony to another. She could see links forming between the ponies nestled on the sofa, and the tiny smile on Sunset’s muzzle whenever Twilight stopped her to ask a question.  
  
She wondered. She had never seen a bond between Sunset and another pony. How would loving somepony other than herself change her? How would Sunset’s love affect the filly she had grown to love? Despite her best impulses, she resisted the impulse to interfere, to strengthen those chains.  
  
[hr]  
  
Sunset read on, and Twilight listened, asked questions, and scribbled hasty notes. Soon enough it was time for supper.  
  
Having not had the pleasure of growing in a fishing village in Cavelia, the two stared at the dish before them with doubt. Flesh stared back.  
  
Fresh fish, baked with herbs and sprinkled with cheese.  
  
Sunset and Twilight sat on one side of the long table of Sparkle Manor’s dining room, with Cadence on the other side withdrawn and fretful.  
  
Unbeknownst to Sunset, Twilight learned [i]all the time[/i]. The filly was practically a sponge for information and knowledge. As Sunset lifted a fork in a haze of turquoise telekinetic aura and dug into the flaky fish before her, Twilight learned the first of many important lessons at her hooves.  
  
[b]When somepony does you the Kindness of cooking a favored dish for you, you must repay that Kindness by trying it.[/b]  
  
The already awkward silence stretched as Sunset pushed the forkful into her mouth with all the bearing of somepony tensing at the first striker-cap snap of a firing squad. She chewed thoughtfully… and dug in for a second bite.  
  
“Thish is actually… really good. I didn't know you cooked, Cadance.”  
  
Cadance had the decency to tuck her wings tighter and shuffle her hooves, before nodding. The musical Cavellian accent hadn't yet faded from her tongue to be replaced by the lockjawed permanent sneer of Canterlot.  
  
“It is a celebration meal. My mother cooked it for me when… I got my cutie mark.”  
  
She offered nothing further, for fear of further attracting Sunset’s attention.  
  
Over the course of the meal, the two older ponies teased out details of Twilight's first day- and the ponies who had been nice to her.  
  
She and another two fillies had almost immediately grown bored of the instruction and had wandered off to their own corner. They learned their names; Moondancer, who was quiet and had read a book with Twilight, and Bouncing Betty, whose magic had a habit of erupting in fitful sparks and flashes when she grew excited.  
  
The fire extinguisher had seen use throughout the day, and by the end of it Betty’s demeanor and unfortunate magical issue had quite exhausted it.  
  
Before too long, last sips of tea had been sipped and last morsels swallowed. Twilight was nudged upstairs for a bath by Cadance, and Sunset volunteered to clean the dishes, giving Twilight a second object lesson;  
  
[b]When you are a guest in somepony’s home, it is polite to offer to assist in some small way.[/b]  
  
[hr]  
  
Sunset flicked through the [i]Primer[/i], checking the skeleton of her lesson plan against the surprisingly neat hornwriting of her student. Cadance’s head poked over the stairs and her soft voice sang out.  
  
“Twilight wishes for you to read her a bedtime story, Sunset. And please… no more of the [i]Primer[/i], or she will be up under the covers checking her notes with Miss Smarty Pants all night.”  
  
Sunset took a deep breath, counted to four. Let it out, count to four. She herself had done the same to Celestia on numerous occasions, although a stuffed toy hadn't been in the equation. She selected a book more or less at random from her saddlebag and trudged up the stairs.  
  
Twilight's bedroom was much as she had expected. It was large enough to contain a growing filly, walls lined with tall bookshelves and only a single untouched toybox at the foot of the rather well-sized bed, a dresser and armoire, and a worn writing desk. She smiled as she sunk hooves into the plush pile of the green carpeting, making her way to pull herself up onto the bed.  
  
The light was turned out and changed for a nightlight, which really had Sunset gape for a moment. Far beyond a single candleflame attached to the wall, Twilight’s light threw a starfield across her ceiling, creating a perfect illusion of the night sky.  
  
She swallowed and opened the book, taking a deep breath before beginning to read.  
  
[i]Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…[/i]


	4. Chapter 4

It happened when Twilight was ten.  
  
  
The worst day of her life started out routinely enough. Six sets of hooves crunched through the manicured grasses of one of Canterlot’s many gardens. Late-spring birds chirped in the trees, singing songs of joy that summer had arrived. Classes were over, tests taken and passed, and for three glorious months there would be hours to fill with whatever pleased at the moment.  
  
  
Five years in the rigorous furnace of Equestria’s most prestigious and advanced school had forged the six fillies into young mares, and created powerful links between them.   
  
  
Twilight hung back of the group, a half-step ahead of Moondancer. A book floated at reading height and the other studious pony was using Twilight’s tail as a guide. She had a habit of walking into things; ponies, light posts, uneven pavement, even buildings weren't safe from her face.  
  
  
The head of their little group trotted a little ways in front of the others, a duffle bag slung across her withers. She'd gotten it into her head that the thing to do on this summer morning was [i]baseball[/i].  
  
  
Betty was the most unique pony Twilight had ever met, the most unique in Canterlot maybe. While the other unicorns tended towards slender, Betty was stocky. It wasn't uncommon for ponies to think of her as an Earth Pony with a horn glued to her forehead. She was taller than the others as well, almost the full size of a teenager despite trailing by a couple months in age.  
  
  
Her red coat offset a darker mulberry mane that framed her muzzle in ringlet curls and spilled across her withers, her eyes and aura a warm tiger-lily orange.  
  
  
If someone stalking the little group closed their eyes and imagined, their accents could have an archetype assigned. Twilight spoke, and in the mind’s eye one saw cravats and spats, culture and wealth. Moondancer spoke similarly, but differently enough that she'd appear a yuppie New Money to Twilight’s blue blood.  
  
  
Lyra’s upper-class brogue carried imagery of cardigans and yachts, and conversations about Pranceton and Hayvard.  
  
  
Starlight Glimmer had a rather bland and exact North Luna Oceanic accent, but a cheerful warmth of tone of a well-read academic, possibly the host of the gathering in her paneled study.  
  
  
Trixie Lulamoon had neither title nor wealth to her name, but the others loved her for her stories and trinkets gathered from across Equestria’s settled zones; an exotic-voiced outsider visiting with tales of adventure.  
  
  
And then Betty would crash the party, a Wild West desperado, a cowpony blowing in from the range. She hailed from Mustangia in the Undiscovered West, and often regaled her friends with tales of her home. Her mother was a railpony, and had made her fortune laying track from the Celestial Sea to the Luna Oceans, connecting Las Pegasus and San Flanksisco to the rest of Equestria.  
  
  
“Righ’ here. This dog’ll hunt.”  
  
  
She smiled thinly and dropped her load, Starlight, Lyra, and Trixie grabbing bases and trotting out lines. Twilight grabbed a couple balls and a bottle of water before settling in roughly in the center of the square.   
  
  
Moondancer set aside her carefully-annotated copy of [i]The Compleat Baseball Compendium[/i], slid on her mask, and settled into a squat with her mitt held between hooves over her barrel.  
  
  
Betty tipped a wink and selected a bat as she watched Twilight prepare to pitch. Street theater was a long held pony pastime, and snooty wannabe-nobles watched the uncouth proceedings with interest, of course while attempting to convey that they were not in fact watching.  
  
  
Betty reared up on her hindlegs and gripped the hickory bat between her forelegs like an Earth Pony as Twilight wound up to toss the ball with her magic. The ponies pressed closer with more thinly-veiled interest, breath holding across the park.  
  
  
In the moment of silence, Betty’s molasses-thick and equally sweet drawl rolled across the grass.  
  
  
“C’mon naow, Twai. Straight’n true.”  
  
  
Betty’s hooves tightened on the bat’s grip. Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she watched Moondancer make a motion with her hoof. She nodded, and let fly.  
  
  
[b][i]CRACK![/i][/b]  
  
  
[hr]  
  
  
“I still can't believe what happened to that first ball.” Lyra smirked as she folded her forelegs to support her neck.  
  
  
Betty flexed self-consciously. “Well Ah needed ta break in New Hick’ry after Ah cracked the las’ one, an Ah figured bustin’ the guts outta a ball would be worth at least a run.”  
  
  
The fillies had watched in mild awe, the baseponies dropping to the ground and covering their ears when Betty had swung low like a Major Leaguer. The thunderous crack of the cover flaking off and the cork shattering had been met with silence, the perfect atmosphere for Moondancer’s quiet voice to make the call.  
  
  
“You're lucky I only called it as a foul. The [i]Compendium[/i] says I could have called it an out, and benched you for the rest of the game.” Moondancer had done the unthinkable in response to Betty crying blue thunder, had kept her place and merely shoved the (highlighted) passage in the book to her muzzle.  
  
  
The game had been fun, and the fillies had collected their supplies and dumped them near enough to the bag to be called picked up before sprawling across the manicured lawn of the garden.   
  
  
“Well hell, out Tall Tale way they'd’ve called it a run an’ Ah’d’ve been carried round the bases.”  
  
  
Moondancer rolled her eyes as she flipped a page, a haze of magic holding [i]Daring Do and the Sapphire Statue[/i] over her snout at an angle perfect for reading and blocking out the sun.  
  
  
“Well it's a foul, and you're too heavy for us to carry.”  
  
  
Trixie muttered something under her breath, to which Starlight responded with a quiet titter. Her lilting accent rose as she shifted to look at her companions briefly before returning to the clouds above them.  
  
  
“What's everypony got planned for summer vacation?”  
  
  
The ultimate question, the only question that mattered on such a perfect late-June day. It was met with silence, and much more thought than any of them had devoted to exams.  
  
  
Moondancer broke the spell first. “My sister found me a spot interning for the Royal Archives. She needs help cataloguing and sorting some things from an archaeological dig near Somnambula.”  
  
  
Lyra’s easy, rolling rhythm answered next. “Oh, Ma’s takin us down the coast, we’re gonna spend some time out in Trottin'ham.”  
  
  
Starlight sighed, “Back home to Sire’s Hollow, same as every year. Sunburst will probably stay here for the Archives.”  
  
  
Trixie rose up on her haunches, gesticulating wildly. “[i]Sar laci and'ekh vadra[/i]! Titles and money, like crabs in a bucket! Mama is taking me on tour with her this year, to see all the sights of Equestria and meet all of the ponies. Do not despair, dear friends, for Trixie shall return in time for school with gifts! Things you've never imagined, from places you've never been and your chains do not reach- snowglobes from Whinnyapolis with real snow, glowstone bracelets from Somnambula, and…” She faltered uncharacteristically, her voice dropping to a pout. “... I'll think of something when we visit Los Pegasus. And letters from the road! You'll write as well, if you're not too busy with your buckets, little crabs.”  
  
  
She dropped back down and shuffled an inch closer to Starlight. The other pony making halting attempts at the burbling language Trixie spoke with her mother, to quiet giggles and quieter responses.  
  
  
Twilight’s heart stopped and her breath caught at a pressure on her hoof, looking down to see a cream-colored one settled over hers. She smiled crookedly and blushed a bit, shuffling closer to read the words as they flicked by.  
  
  
“Well shoot, I ‘spect with the railhead jes’ put in out Tall Tale way we'll be headin’ out ta cut ribbon on the station, ‘n then probably camp out on the Range.”  
  
  
Twilight cleared her throat and closed her eyes. “Normally, we spend four months visiting the settled zone near the Everfree Sparkle Estate. But Mom and Dad left for the shipyard in Fillydelphia about a week ago. When Shiny comes home from officer school we'll probably take the new [i]Star Light[/i] for a cruise before heading out to the country. I hope the airship will be more fun than that creaky old house by the forest. Even if I do get airsick every time I set hoof on those blasted things.”  
  
  
The six friends settled into quiet contemplation of the cloud shapes rolling overhead, not trotting out old quarrels or starting new ones. Hooves wordlessly sought contact, and six young hearts thrummed with the knowledge that nothing would ever change.  
  
  
[hr]  
  
  
Cadance’s lilting Cavellian accent carried fairly impressively across the observation deck of the Tower of Art. The highest point in Canterlot, and well within the jurisdiction of Celestia’s School, it afforded anypony who made the climb the chance to see the entire city and Equestria unfurl beneath them like a map. Not that anyone in Canterlot ever cared, with their noses high enough to drown if it rained.  
  
  
“Oh no, they're arguing.”  
  
  
Sunset rolled her eyes and looked up from the pile of notes before her. It seemed like every new week brought new revisions to her carefully-crafted lesson plans, as Twilight proceeded to demolish every expectation set before her. She unfolded her legs from beneath herself and stretched, trotting to snag one of the telescopes arrayed around the fringe of the tower.  
  
  
“They're always arguing. They're ten.” She swung the telescope down and across, fiddling with the focus to see what Cadance was watching. Her view of foals wasn't changed by Twilight, she merely found her the only filly in the world that wasn't inherently irritating. “Betty busted a ball. Again. I swear, that filly has zero restraint.”  
  
  
Cadance glanced down and ran her hoof along the page of the book open before her, lips moving as she read.  
  
  
“That’ll be a foul. Moondancer is a stickler for the rules.”  
  
  
Sure enough, the argument ended with Betty resuming her position and a second ball lifting in Twilight’s telekinesis.  
  
  
Both ponies jumped at the thunderous crack as hickory met cork, and groaned as it met a magic-hazed mitt reinforced by a pair of hooves, Trixie popping up from a roll and throwing herself to touch the base. There was a certain amount of crowing, before the lineup shifted and Starlight took the bat in her aura with a mildly self-conscious expression.  
  
  
“You've got to admit, only they would be able to come up with a way for six ponies to play a game meant for eighteen.”  
  
  
Cadance shook her head. “This baseball is so ‘ard to follow. I prefer hoofball.”  
  
  
Sunset tugged over a sheet of paper and carefully marked it, squinting. The diagram filled up with pencil marks as the game progressed, keeping track of the notational runs, outs, and base hits made more complicated by the fillies constantly shuffling positions.  
  
  
Before too long the game was over, and Sunset turned her attention back to the stack of books she'd brought along. Her attention was taken by a wordless squeal rising in pitch and rapid tapping on her shoulder.  
  
  
“Tea’s ready.” She smirked, the keening sound Cadance made upon seeing something cute always reminding her of an angry kettle. She brought her eye back to the telescope and smiled despite the company. “Aw. Puppy love. I guess you're going to want to field that one?”  
  
  
Cadance blushed and composed herself. “I appreciate you making an effort to realize that there are things only my talent can do for Twilight.”  
  
  
Sunset made a face as she watched a purple ball present itself from the bag. No game in particular, the fillies just kicking it around.  
  
  
“Yeah well… maybe the squirt’s got me thinking. Looking at myself, how I'm not much of a role model. How I'm…”   
  
  
Cadance bit her lip and tucked her wings tight. “A bit of a bitch?”  
  
  
Sunset gave her a Look, before the anger fizzled out of her like a rush of steam, leaving her hot and limp. “Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I still hate you for stepping into the life [i]I[/i] always wanted and deserved without any effort but… You never deserved the way I treated you. How I'd pull feathers when you walked by or did things with magic to show you that you couldn't- or to make you afraid.”  
  
  
Cadance smirked faintly and made a quiet pop noise. “My father always said that when you become a teenager that your head goes up your ass. He then said that one day you will hear a pop, and that will be it coming back out, and you will then be an adult.”  
  
  
Sunset’s lips worked for several seconds, before she turned red and giggled helplessly. “I'm so telling Celestia that you said ‘ass’, Miss Priss.”  
  
  
Cadance rolled her eyes. “Maybe part of the blame is mine. I should have spoken up, I should have stood up to you, I should have told Auntie that the way she treats you is unpony. She really does think of you as a daughter, you know… she just can't say it because she fears you will reject her.”  
  
  
Sunset smiled a little self-consciously. "I know. She doesn't show it much, but I know."  
  
  
She tapped Sunset on the nose gently with a forehoof. “But, it is okay. I no longer care how you act towards me. It is clear to me that despite five years of pissing and moaning you really care deeply for Twilight, as deeply as I do. That for the first time since I have met you, you love somepony other than yourself.”  
  
  
They smiled at each other in the deepening twilight, before Sunset returned to her books and Cadance to the telescope as the sun dipped over the Eastern horizon.  
  
  
“You're not so bad, Heartflanks, even if you are a filthy lifestealer.”  
  
  
A tiny smirk. “And despite your constant bullying and self aggrandizing you are not such a bitch either. I only agreed to come here today because I know there's a good pony under there, she only needs someone willing to show her the way out.”  
  
  
Cadance’s breath caught as she tilted the telescope up, brow furrowing.  
  
  
“Ah, so that is the [i]Star Light.[/i]”  
  
  
Sunset lifted herself back up to peer through her own telescope. “She sure is beautiful, isn't she? I hope they didn't get ripped off.”  
  
  
Cadance rested both hooves on the barrel of the telescope and squinted. “Truthfully, she is the first airship I have really looked at. Look there, on the left ah…” She made a circular motion with her hoof.  
  
  
“Rotor? What am I looking at.”  
  
  
“Is it supposed to do that?” She made a wiggling motion of her hoof.  
  
  
Sunset cursed under her breath about stupid alicorn eyesight and squinted. “Ah. That's called cavitation, and no it isn't. The rotor is being pulled backwards by its own vacuum and that's making it wobble. A competent captain can smooth it out though, nothing to worry about.”  
  
  
Both ponies gasped as flickering light raced along the nacelle.  
  
  
“The engine’s caught fire.”  
  
  
They watched helplessly as the rotor sheared free and blades the size of a windmill’s arms cut through the skin of the airship. The fire had engulfed the engine, and was spreading towards the envelope. A few other craft and a small flight of pegasi sprang from the docks on the lowermost part of the city, and both of them pleaded that they'd be enough, and in time.  
  
  
They weren't. The bones of the ship were visible as the canvas burned away and she listed heavily to port and started sinking. She collapsed against the side of the mountain, as ponies fruitlessly tried to combat the blaze. The hydrogen escaping quickly turned it into an inferno that nopony could have escaped.  
  
  
“No gliders. Nopony ditched the ship. They had to have known…”  
  
  
Both ponies were frozen, still as statues. Cadance wept openly, sinking to the floor and burying her face into her hooves. She tried to ignore, to forget what she'd seen- two of Twilight’s bonds blackening and shriveling like burned rope.  
  
  
Sunset stirred first, swallowing and rising to her hooves. “I… I…”  
  
  
Cadance lifted her face and had to shield her eyes from how brightly Sunset’s shackles glowed in the sight of her talent. “Where are you going?”  
  
  
“You wouldn't understand, miss Perfect Life. I have to tell Twilight that her fucking world just ended.”


End file.
